Both Roman and Rick looked to Chase as their role model. If Chase thought their mother’s dire health and her deep desire for a grandchild warranted a sacrifice, then Roman had to agree. Not only did he owe his brother, he shared the same sense of devotion to family.
“It’s no whim Mom suffered,” Roman said to his siblings. “She said it’s a weak heart that can’t handle stress.”
“Or disappointment,” Rick said. “Mom didn’t use that word, but you know damn well she meant it. We’ve disappointed her.”
Roman nodded in agreement. “So if grandchildren will make her happy, then it’s up to one of us to give her one to coddle while she’s still around to enjoy being a grandmother.”
“Knowing one of us is happily married will take the edge off that stress she’s supposed to avoid,” Chase said. “And a grandchild will give her life direction.”
“Can’t we just get her a puppy?” Rick asked.
Roman understood the sentiment. At thirty-one, his lifestyle precluded settling down. Marriage and family hadn’t been in the future. Until now. It wasn’t that Roman didn’t like women. He did. Hell, he loved women, how they smelled and how their soft skin felt gliding against his aroused body. But he couldn’t imagine giving up his career in favor of looking at the same female face across the breakfast table every day for the rest of his life. He shuddered, amazed that his life choices had come down to this one moment.
He turned to his middle brother. “Rick, you’ve tied the knot once. No need to do it again.” Though Roman had no desire to announce himself the man for the job, he couldn’t let his sibling repeat his past—marrying to help someone else while sacrificing himself in the process.
Rick shook his head. “Wrong, baby brother. I’ll take part in the coin toss. Last time has nothing to do with this. This is about family.”
Roman understood. The Chandlers were all about family. So he was back to where they left off. Would he return to his job as foreign correspondent for the Associated Press, continue to land in political hot spots and get the untold stories out to the rest of the world, or would he settle down in Yorkshire Falls the way he’d never planned? Though sometimes Roman wasn’t sure whose dream he was actually pursuing—his, Chase’s, or a combination of both—Roman lived in fear of replicating his brother’s life, of being closed in with no options.
But despite his churning stomach, he was ready and nodded in Chase’s direction. “Get it over with.”
“Whatever you say.” Chase flipped the coin high into the air.
Roman inclined his head toward Rick, giving him the choice, and Rick called out, “Heads.”
As if in slow motion, the quarter circled and flew in the air. Roman’s carefree life passed before his eyes the same way: the women he’d met and flirted with, the special ones who’d lasted long enough to constitute a relationship but not a life mate, the occasional hot, steamy encounter, less often now that he was older and more discriminating.
The sound of Chase’s palm slapping against his hand stunned Roman back into reality. He met his oldest brother’s solemn gaze.
A life change.
The death of a dream.
The severity of the situation hit Roman in the gut. He squared his shoulders and waited, while Rick sucked in an exaggerated breath.
Chase lifted his hand and glanced down, before meeting first Rick’s, then Roman’s gaze. Then he did the job the way he always did, without backing down. “Looks like you’ll be needing a drink about now, baby brother. You’re the sacrificial lamb in Mom’s quest for grandchildren.”
Rick heaved a heavy sigh that was nothing compared to the ball of lead sitting in Roman’s stomach. Chase walked up beside Roman. “If you want out, now’s the time. No one’s going to hold it against you if you don’t want to do this.”
Roman forced a grin, emulating Chase at eighteen. “You think scoping out women and making babies is a tough assignment? By the time I’m through, you’re going to wish you were me.”
“Make sure she’s a babe,” Rick said helpfully, but no real humor tinged his words or tone. He obviously felt Roman’s pain, though his own relief at not being the chosen one was tangible.
Roman appreciated the attempt to lighten his mood, even if it didn’t work. “More important that she doesn’t expect too much,” he shot back. Any woman he married had to know up front who he was and accept what he wasn’t.
Chase slapped him on the back. “I’m proud of you, kid. This is a once-in-a-lifetime decision. Be certain you can live with her, okay?”
“I don’t plan to live with anyone,” Roman muttered.
“Then what do you plan?” Rick asked.
“A nice long-distance marriage that doesn’t change my life much at all. I want to find someone who’s willing to stay at home and raise the kid, who’ll be happy seeing me whenever I can make it back.”
“You’ve got enough baggage as it is, is that it?” Rick asked.
Roman scowled at him. His attempt at mood-lightening had gone too far. “Actually, we had a damn good life while growing up and I want to make sure anyone I marry can provide the same thing for my kid.”
“So you go on the road, the wife stays home.” Chase shook his head. “You’d better watch your attitude. You don’t want to scare potential candidates off too early in the search.”
“There’s no chance of that happening.” Rick chuckled. “There wasn’t a girl in high school who didn’t lust after the kid, before he left for a life of adventure.”
Despite the situation, Roman laughed. “Only after you graduated. Yours were big shoes to fill.”
“That goes without saying.” Rick folded his arms over his chest and grinned. “But fair’s fair. I had to walk in Chase’s footsteps, and they were huge. Girls loved his strong, silent bit. But once
